January 21, 2011
Foods That Trigger Acid Reflux and Heartburn
There are a number of foods that trigger acid reflux and heartburn. Although everyone is different certain foods cause acid reflux more often, and more commonly, than others. Additionally, how much you eat, and when you eat can also trigger the effects of acid reflux.
Traditionally, onions, garlic, highly acidic fruits and juices (like citrus), caffeine and alcohol are all known to cause some type of heartburn (mild or severe) in a vast number of people. Additionally, foods that are difficult to digest like fatty foods (fast food), whole milk products, and ground beef can also cause some level of heart burn.
However, you may have your own triggers that upset your stomach a great deal, but don’t bother anyone else. To help you identify these causes, keep a food journal. That just means you should write down what you eat, when you eat, and how much you ate each time you sit down for a meal or a snack. That will help you to know exactly what you’ve eaten in the last few hours since your most recent bout of heartburn. If there are any trends, you’ll be able to easily point to them because you’ve been keeping track of your meals.
Regardless of what you’re eating, you can still get a mean case of heartburn if you eat too much of it. Have you ever heard of too much of a good thing? If you flood your stomach with food all at once, that sends it into acid production overdrive, and you may find that an upset stomach is the least of your problems. Keep this from happening by eating smaller meals more often. That way you’re still getting the same amount of nutrition, but you’re making it easier for your digestive system to process.
Additionally, when you eat can impact your heartburn pain. If you eat too close to bed time, or right before you lie down for a nap, that can be a sure fire way to trigger acid reflux, even if you just ate some whole grain toast, something that shouldn’t cause heartburn in the first place. This is because when you lay down, gravity can no longer help your body keep food down in the stomach. That allows acid and food to wander up into your esophagus, which results in pain and irritation. So, just try not to eat so close to bed time. Food should be consumed two hours or more prior to lying down to avoid an attack of acid indigestion. If this rule can’t be followed, then try propping yourself up with an extra pillow to provide your body with something resembling a more natural alignment of your digestive tracts, and attempt to keep foods down in your stomach where they belong.
If you’re looking for more information about foods that trigger acid reflux and heartburn, why they trigger those conditions, and how you can naturally relieve those symptoms, check out The Reflux Remedy Report. It contains a whole host of information about heartburn, as well as holistic tips and tricks for being heartburn free. Visit refluxremedy.com today to learn more.
Filed under Acid Reflux by admin
January 11, 2011
Acid Indigestion Symptoms
Heartburn and acid indigestion plague millions of people worldwide. But, for someone who is experiencing it for the first time, it can be difficult to identify the symptoms of heartburn. So, what are some of the acid indigestion symptoms, what causes these symptoms, and how can they be prevented?
Symptoms
Symptoms of acid indigestion can be scary if you don’t know what they are. Chest pain is a main symptom; however it is different than that of a heart attack. Heartburn pain is often described as a burning sensation that radiates from the abdomen up into the chest and neck. A heart attack can feel like a weight on your chest, pain, and pain or numbness in your arm. It’s important to know the difference between these two symptoms and react accordingly.
Other symptoms of acid indigestion include reflux, or acid making it all the way up to your mouth, burping, hiccups and an overall feeling of indigestion.
Causes
These symptoms are a result of either acid overproduction, or acid being allowed into your esophagus, which can have a number of root triggers. They include daily habits, food and food consumption, and stress, among others.
Daily habits often cause acid indigestion. Something as simple as lying down right after eating isn’t good for digestion, and can easily result in heartburn. This is because when you’re in a horizontal position, acid is allowed to move freely through your stomach and esophagus. So, if you’ve just eaten, there may be acid and even food left in your stomach when you lie down. That means it’ll end up in your esophagus and cause acid indigestion if you don’t stay up for a bit longer. To avoid this, try eating no less than two hours before meals.
Food and how much of it you eat are huge triggers of heartburn and acid indigestion. Things like garlic, onions, caffeine, alcohol and citrus are common triggers, but you may have your own unique things that set you off. Keep track of what you eat so that you can easily point to your own acid indigestion culprits. Additionally, eating too much food at any one time can cause heartburn. This is because the body can’t process the sheer volume of food, and goes into overdrive of acid production. That creates a pressure buildup and causes indigestion and discomfort. In order to avoid this, try eating smaller meals more frequently. That will help your stomach more easily digest what you do give it, and keep indigestion at bay.
Stress is also a big indigestion trigger. It’s known to increase acid production, which can result in heartburn and discomfort. So, do things that will help you to relax. Listen to soothing music, take deep breaths, read a book, exercise, practice some yoga, whatever you need to do to help you calm down. It will help you prevent acid indigestion later in the day if you squash stress at its source.
Prevention
Preventing acid indigestion is easier than you may think. Simple things like altering your daily habits and food intake as stated above can majorly help improve your quality of life when it comes to heartburn. However, there are plenty of other things you can try to keep heartburn at bay.
- Papaya tablets can help you to more easily digest your food, and keep acid production down to a healthy level. Papaya contains digestive enzymes that help break down your food and make it more digestible.
- Eating an apple before or after a meal can also help to keep heartburn at bay.
These are just a few of the natural prevention techniques found in The Reflux Remedy Report. The report contains hundreds of holistic methods for keeping your foods down where they belong.
For more information on acid indigestion symptoms and how to prevent them, visit refluxremedy.com today.
Filed under Acid and Digestion by admin
January 3, 2011
Where Does Your Heartburn Hurt?
If you are someone who hasn’t ever had heartburn, or are experiencing heartburn for the first time, you may be asking, where does heartburn hurt? Generally, heartburn sufferers feel pain in the upper chest area, which can radiate upwards toward the neck.
Heartburn happens when stomach acids are allowed to escape the stomach, and enter the esophagus, which causes pain, and a burning sensation. The lower esophageal sphincter is a sort of one way valve meant to let food into the stomach, and keep it there, along with all the acids and enzymes meant to aid in the digestion process. If this muscle relaxes too much, or is damaged in some way, those acids can make their way up into areas they were never meant to be in, resulting in heartburn.
Heartburn pain can vary from mild to severe, and can be accompanied by burping, reflux, which just means the acids made their way all the way up to the mouth, hiccups and general indigestion.
Heartburn has a wide range of causes, and targeting some of them can keep heartburn at bay for most people. First of all, a simple lifestyle change can help eliminate heartburn pain quickly. Eating large meals can cause heartburn by putting too much pressure on your stomach, which causes it to overproduce acid. So, rather than eating two big meals every day, try four or five smaller meals to help your body digest a little easier. Additionally, don’t eat too close to bed time. Laying down allows acids to easily migrate out of the stomach, so stay upright after eating for as long as possible to let gravity help your body keep digestive fluids where they belong. Also, try changing your fashion habits. Wearing clothes that are tight fitting can constrict your stomach, putting pressure on sensitive areas, which leads to heartburn.
Another habit that can lead to heartburn pain is smoking. The nicotine in tobacco is shown to cause the body to overproduce stomach acids. If you have too much acid in your stomach, it can easily escape into areas that will cause pain. Smoking also inhibits your body’s ability to heal, so any damage done by excess stomach acids won’t heal as quickly.
Stress can also lead to heartburn pain in the chest and neck areas. Similar to nicotine, stress causes an overproduction of stomach acids. To combat this, calm down. Try some deep breathing, take a meditation course, count to ten, put on some relaxing music, add some light exercise to your daily routine, whatever it takes to de-stress your life. If you feel yourself getting stressed out, something as simple as taking a deep breath can save you from pain later.
Food is another common cause of heartburn pain. Everyone has different triggers, but in general spicy foods, onion, garlic, caffeine, alcohol and citrus fruits are a few common ones. Try tracking what causes your pain and avoiding those foods if necessary.
Heartburn pain is an uncomfortable problem for millions of people. To find out more about where heartburn hurts and the causes of heartburn pain, visit www.refluxremedy.com today.
Filed under Heartburn Remedies by admin
December 17, 2010
Hiatal Hernia & Bleeding
Hiatal Hernia & bleeding tend to only go together if the hernia is severe, or has gone untreated for far too long. The bleeding occurs as a result of damages done to the esophagus. It?s important to catch a Hiatal Hernia before it reaches this point, and treat it accordingly.
Normal Symptoms
Normal symptoms of a Hiatal Hernia can mimic heartburn pretty closely. However, it would be a sudden onset of frequent heartburn for those who don?t normally suffer from the problem. These symptoms can include acid reflux (or burping up stomach acids), heartburn pain, general indigestion, burping and hiccups.
Additionally chest pain can sometimes accompany a Hiatal Hernia. However, it?s important to distinguish between Hiatal Hernia chest pain and chest pain from a heart attack. Hernia pain can be caused by spasms in the stomach and chest area due to the stomach being displaced. It is not generally accompanied by anything other than heartburn symptoms. Chest pain due to a heart attack will be accompanied by shortness of breath and numbness in one of your arms. If you experience these symptoms, seek medical treatment right away!
It?s important to be aware of the normal symptoms of a Hiatal Hernia if you suspect you might have one, so that you can keep it from escalating to a state of bleeding.
What can you do?
A Hiatal Hernia is rarely life threatening and, when caught in normal stages can be treated with simple lifestyle changes. It?s important to keep in mind when dealing with a Hiatal Hernia that your body just needs time to heal and de-stress. Therefore, making the digestive process easier for your stomach is often the best way to help a hernia, and keep it from coming back.
For example, eat smaller meals more often. That way you prevent the onslaught of food that your stomach has difficulty dealing with. If you eat too much, it causes pressure to build and excess stomach acids to accumulate. This causes irritation and can further aggravate your hernia. Eating smaller meals provides your stomach with a more steady flow of food, keeping it from getting too stressed out.
Additionally, try not to eat right before bed. In fact, you shouldn?t eat about 2 hours before you lie down, even if it?s just for a nap. You see, gravity naturally helps food progress down through your digestive tract, and if you lie down immediately after eating, gravity can?t do its job and food and acids can put pressure on an already upset stomach. So, while it may be tempting to lie down on the couch after that huge holiday feast, don?t do it! Relax by sitting up, and rest your head on a pillow. Stay upright for as long as you can, and your stomach will thank you.
Try doing things like quitting smoking and removing stress from your life. This will prevent the overproduction of stomach acids, which can irritate your sensitive stomach. Plus, smoking slows the body?s natural ability to heal, so quitting will help your body heal that much faster.
With all these techniques in place, you should be able to prevent Hiatal Hernia & bleeding from becoming a problem.
For more tips and tricks for treating a Hiatal Hernia, visit www.refluxremedy.com today!
Filed under Acid Reflux Remedy by admin